Beast

Tom McKeith, Sam McKeith

Australian writer-directors Tom and Sam
McKeith have taken elements of classic
boxing films, added thriller twists, and
refracted the resulting story through the
lens of social realism to create Beast. This
is a heart-pounding tale that captures your
attention from the first frame and never
loses its grip.

In the teeming, steaming streets of
Manila, we meet Jaime (Chad McKinney),
a young Filipino-American boxer managed
by his father Rick (Garret Dillahunt), an
American expat. Rick has great ambitions
for his son, and convinces the reluctant
Jaime to tamper with his gloves in order
to win a match that matters a lot to some
nefarious sideliners. When his defeated
opponent dies from injuries sustained in the
match, the guilt-stricken Jaime insists on
turning himself in, despite pressure from his
father to keep quiet. However, the criminals
who had a stake in the game are combing
the streets for Jaime, and the young boxer
has already found his way to his opponent's
family — who now must join him on the run.

The heart of the story is Jaime's struggle
to decide if he can still be a good man after
having done a bad thing. To redeem himself
in his own eyes means breaking away from
his father and all he's ever known, and it
remains uncertain right up until the last
moment whether he will pay this price.

Tipping its stylistic hat to gritty cult classics
such as Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher
trilogy, and delving deep into Jaime's ethical
conundrum even as it takes us on a tour
of the rarely-shown-on-screen Manilan
underworld, Beast breathes new life into
the boxing-film genre.